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Only BOAC for some people

Old Ad of BOAC airlines
An old two page Ad of BOAC published in
Indian Edition of The Reader's Digest
March, 1972

For some people there was only one airline
The 747. it’s the most advanced, most exciting aircraft in the world, with more room and more freedom.
But even the 747 wouldn’t be same without BOAC service.
The kind of service that had given more thought than ever before
…
The BOAC 747 – from Delhi, every Friday night
Tehran, Beirut, Frankfurt and London. Every Sunday morning to Hong Kong, Sydney and Melbourne. Though Bombay from April 6, every Sunday to Zurich and London.
BOAC with Air-India & Qantas

I would have reproduced the entire text of the Ad but then Ads for airlines are always the same. All that talk about no cabins, instead it having rooms with spacious lounges with walls and ceilings. Two wide aisles and individual overhead lockers (they always promise the biggest we have even seen). The armchair Wide and Deeper , Headrest adjustable yet soft. Stewards and stewardesses that you would like to take home to your mom. At our fingertips complete entertainment center: seven channel of pre-recorded music – 4 in stereo –and an extra channel for motion picture.*
That * of course meant that you have to shelve out a nominal fee for this.

This Ad is from 1972, the year in which BOAC and BEA were combined under the British Airways Board. Not much later in 1974, the two airlines combined to form British Airways.

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As Karachi was originally a port city in India which we lost to Pakistan, we had no big airport except Calcutta to receive international flights. So Palam airport in Delhi operated by the IAF was allowed to be used by the new Pan American Airways and BOAC. Other international airlines such as Air France, KLM and SAS, as well as BOAC were using Calcutta

Read how India learnt to fly.


An Interesting footnote:
Many do not know that Nehru was a chain-smoker. We get a very interesting glimpse of Nehru in a relaxed and informal mood with a burning cigarette on his lips, in Homai's photograph. This photograph shows Nehru lighting a cigarette on the lips of Ms.Simon, wife of the then British High Commissioner to India. The photograph was taken inside the BOAC Boeing on its inaugural flight to London from New Delhi.

Check out the photograph and read about the photographer Homai Vyarawalla, India's first woman photojournalist.

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Check out rest of the Ads at the Index of Vintage Indian Print Ads
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